The Washington Post called Dr. Amen the most popular psychiatrist in America and Sharecare named him the web’s #1 most influential expert and advocate on mental health. Dr. Amen is a physician, double board certified psychiatrist, television producer and ten-time New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder and Medical Director of Amen Clinics in Costa Mesa and San Francisco, California, Bellevue, Washington, Reston, Virginia, Atlanta, Georgia and New York, New York. Amen Clinics have the world’s largest database of functional brain scans relating to behavior, totaling more than 125,000 scans on patients from 111 countries. Dr. Amen is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, the highest award given to members, and is the lead researcher on the world’s largest brain imaging and rehabilitation study on professional football players.

Dan Schawbel: We are inundated with so much information these days so how can we selectively decide what to remember and forget?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Turn off your phone so you are not constantly distracted, then ask yourself what do you want and need to accomplish. It is so much easier when your brain is not addicted to the next ping or buzz. Remember things your computer or phone cannot hold, such as someone's tone of voice, facial expressions, interest or disinterest in your work.

Schawbel:Mental wellness is one of the hottest topics in today's workplace. What role do both employees and employers have in creating a mentally strong culture?

Amen:I like this question because the most effective work places are a collaboration between employers and employees. Creating brain healthy workplaces, where good communication and brain health education and habits (sleep, exercise, food) are valued will help overall performance.

Schawbel:What are some proven ways to improve your memory so employees can be more effective at work?

Amen:Address each of the bright minds risk factors that steal memory as I outline in my new book.. Here are some more ways to exercise your brain to boost your memory:

• Mental exercise is as important as diet and physical exercise for keeping both your body and brain strong. Here are activities that have been shown to make a difference.

• Dedicate yourself to new learning. Set aside 15 minutes in your day to learn something new. Einstein said that if anyone spends 15 minutes a day learning something new, in a year he will be an expert. As in school or business, commitment is critical to achieving greatness or a great brain.

• Be purposeful about cognitive training. Community-dwelling seniors who took just a few weeks of cognitive training experienced significantly improved reasoning and speed of processing skills, as well as fewer difficulties with the activities of daily living 10 years later, compared with those who didn't get such training.

• Take a class about something new and interesting. In many areas of the country community colleges or online groups offer low-cost classes on a wide variety of subjects. Attend a new class on a subject totally unrelated to your day-to-day life. It is important to challenge your brain to learn new and novel things. Examples include square-dancing (great exercise), chess, tai chi, yoga or sculpture. Working with modeling clay or Playdough can be good for children or adults to help them grow new connections. It helps develop agility and hand-brain coordination.

• Cross train at work. Learn someone else’s job. Maybe even switch jobs for several weeks. This strategy benefits both the business and its employees, as workers will develop new skills and better brain function. In a grocery store, for example, employees can be taught to work as checkout clerks and to stock shelves, order products, and rotate among the produce, grocery and dairy sections of the store.

• Break the routine of your life to stimulate new parts of your brain. Do the opposite of what feels natural to activate the other side of your brain and gain access to both hemispheres. Try using your other, non-dominant hand for activities such as writing, eating, brushing your teeth, hitting baseballs, shooting basketballs, playing table tennis or using the computer mouse. Experiment with shooting a rifle sighting with your other eye. These changes make your brain feel uncomfortable—in essence, breaking the patterned routine in your life to challenge it to make new connections.

• Cultivate smart friends. People are contagious. You become like the people with whom you spend time. Work on developing friendships with new, interesting people. You can trade ideas, get new perspectives and generally stretch your mind if you are surrounded by fascinating folks. Most of us know that in playing any game, if you want to get better, you have to play with people who are better than you, who push you to your limit. The same principle holds true in pushing your brain to new heights. Spend time with people who challenge you.

• Use music to enhance your mind. There is significant research suggesting that both learning to play music and listening to music, especially classical music, can enhance memory and mood. Listening to Mozart or Strauss for just 25 minutes, for example, has been shown to lower blood pressure and the stress hormone cortisol. Listening to ABBA has also been shown to lower cortisol. Mama mia! Listening to peaceful and joyful music lowered anxiety and depression. Classical music also enhanced memory and cognitive function. Learning to play music helped to increase the size of the hippocampus. Grabyourguitar! Stevie Wonder once said, “Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories.” What’s more, if you listen to happy or peaceful music, you recall positive memories from your past, whereas if you listen to emotionally scary or sad music, you recall largely negative memories. Music matters.

Schawbel:How has technology impacted our brain for better or worse, and what can we do to use it more effectively so it improves our brain and our relationships with others?

Amen:According to a study from Microsoft, the human attention span is eight seconds, where a gold fish is nine seconds. Technology is having a pervasive negative impact on brain function. New studies actually shows it increases depression and obesity. It can also bring great good. The most important thing with technology is to not let it control you. Limit the times you give to it.

Schawbel:What are your top three pieces of career advice?

Amen:

1. Know what you want … clearly define it, write it down.

2. Take great care of your brain – it gets you what you want

3. Start every day with “Today is going to be a great day.” Your brain will then find why it will be a great day.